Q: How can I save money on my phone bills? I feel like we are paying too much money every month.

A: You didn’t say how much you were paying but here are a few things you can do.

For starters, there are a few websites that you can go to that will help you find out what the current rates are for various phone plans. SaveOnPhone.com, LowerMyBills.com and GetConnected are three good sites.

You can comparison shop to see if there are good deals on long distance service. If you find a better deal, contact your current phone company and see if they will match the price. In many cases, they will match a good deal on phone service. If not, don’t be shy to switch.

While it’s tempting to stick with household name companies like AT&T, MCI or Sprint, you can actually get much better deals elsewhere.

It’s also important to look closely at your bill and see what’s driving your high telephone bills. Sometimes people opt-in for extra phone services like call waiting, caller ID, voicemail, call forwarding and three-way calling. These extra costs can add up. If they are not essential, cancel them.

Finally, it may be worth checking out Internet-based phone plans. Companies like Vonage and Packet8 offer some good Internet telephone plans. If you’ve got a DSL line or a cable modem that gives you a broadband Internet connection, you can cancel your phone line with the phone company and just make all your calls and receive all your calls via the Internet.